Syria: Rockets target Hizbollah in Beirut

Lebanon was dragged deeper into the Syrian conflict on Sunday when two rockets
crashed into a Hizbollah heartland suburb of Beirut, just hours after the
Shia movement’s leader pledged to secure “victory” for President Bashar
al-Assad.

The attack in Beirut is believed to have been carried out by supporters of Syria’s Sunni-dominated rebel movementPhoto: EPA

The attack in the Lebanese capital is thought to be retaliation for a speech by Hizbollah’s leader in which he pledged his militia’s unconditional backing for the Syrian regime.

The attack came asSyria’s foreign minister offered the first direct confirmation that the regime was willing “in principle” to participate in UN-sponsored peace talks, backed by both Russia and the United States, to establish a political transition plan.

The conference, scheduled to be held in Geneva next month, presented a “good opportunity for a political solution for the crises in Syria”, said Walid al-Moallem, the Syrian foreign minister, during a visit to Iraq.

In Istanbul, the opposition Syrian National Coalition met for a fourth day on Sunday to overcome deep divisions over the proposed conference.

The opposition, weakened by its own internal disputes, has said that it will not negotiate until Mr Assad agrees to step down.

The attack in Beirut is believed to have been carried out by supporters of Syria’s Sunni Muslim-dominated rebel movement, which also has supporters in religiously mixedLebanon. They are angry at the increasing role that Hizbollah’s Shia Muslim fighters are playing in the war in Syria, where they are currently helping Mr Assad’s forces to recapture the strategic city of Qusair near Lebanon’s border.

The Grad rocket attacks – the first attempt to target Hizbollah’s strongholds in southern Beirut – hit a car sales yard in the Al-Shayyah district and a nearby apartment block.

While only five people were wounded, the strikes evoked uneasy memories of Lebanon’s own sectarian civil war in the 1980s, in which the city divided into warring neighbourhoods.

“The explosions happened near my home. I don’t know who is behind it, but I feel like the war is near,” said one resident, who was too frightened to give his name. “People are scared and the streets are empty.”

Hassan Nasrallah speaks during a rally to mark the Resistance and Liberation Day on Saturday (EPA)

The rocket strikes came a day after Hassan Nasrallah, Hizbollah’s leader, gave a speech admitting for the first time that his militia was fighting alongside the Syrian government.

“I have always promised you a victory and now I pledge to you a new one”, he said in a speech marking the 13th anniversary of Israel’s military withdrawal from Lebanon. “This battle is ours.”

The broadcast came as Hizbollah sources said that at least 22 of their fighters had died in the battle with Syrian rebels in Qusair on Saturday.

A Syrian rebel, Ammar al-Wawi, told Lebanon’s LBC Television that the rocket attack was a direct response to Hizbollah’s actions.

“In coming days we will do more than this,” he warned. “This is a warning to Hizbollah, and the Lebanese government to keep Hizbollah’s hands off Syria.”

A well-placed source told The Daily Telegraph that Sheikh Nasrallah has initially tried to minimise his group’s involvement in Syria.

But after receiving orders from Iran, Hizbollah’s deputy leader, Naim Qassam, sanctioned military operations without Sheikh Nasrallah’s full consent.

The exchanges in Lebanon will add to the sense of urgency at a high-level meeting on Syria in Brussels on Monday, where Britain will attempt to persuade other European nations to relax the EU embargo on arming Syrian rebels.

William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, believes that arming more secular factions of the rebel movement is now necessary to curb the rising influence of groups linked to al-Qaeda.

But diplomats from Austria and Scandinavia fear that doing so will jeopardise any chances of reaching a deal at next month's conference in Geneva.